I'm not keen on the taxi option and I am most certainly not renting a car. There's public transport where I live and I haven't driven in years. I'm not about to start again in another country.

I realise that walking, using public transport and not driving are largely foreign concepts in the US which is a shame for economic, environmental and social reasons. Looking at the map of Indianapolis, I reckon the city could make considerable use of a tram system. 

I'm in the same boat...probably going to have to end up driving half an hour, fighting con traffic and paying an arm and a leg for parking because, despite following instructions and logging into the portal at my assigned time, nothing was available to me. Best info I can find is their note that "Over the coming days and weeks we’ll be procuring supplemental inventory and making it available for booking on a first-come first served basis". But no information about how or when additional inventory will be made available. This is my first gencon, really hoping the rest of the con is better organized than this.

Lets be honest. Much of my issue which is probably shared by many, is age related. I am no longer in my 20's (or 30's for that matter). When I was, any small space to crash, long walks, crazy connections was no big deal, make it happen. Now that I am in my 50's, those things aren't so available and better accommodations are needed. There is no way I can do the all night drives like I used to, or hiking through town with my backpack from the bus stop. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

I have to agree with quarex on that assertion and not just because he's a scholar and a gentleman.  Gen Con is very well run and organized for what it is and the limitations it must operate within.

There's three hotels showing on the portal right now, one airport an two suburb. Been there a while so looks like extra inventory rather than cancellations

We didn't get an In-block room, first time in 15+ years... We are staying 5 miles out, which is a 10 minute ride; faster than walking to First Watch every day from the JW, so I'll take it. Yes, my every morning breakfast will be @ First Watch. :D Trying to stay positive. My total will be less than 300, when it's usually 700 or so, so saving lots of $ (Woohoo!). The only real negative is that I like to do the Dealer Hall for a long while, then back to room, shower/change, then to evening gaming, but I'll make it work. GENCON!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been doing Gencon for 20 years and only NOT gotten a downtown room twice and both times it was my choice, trying to save money. I have missed the housing lottery as many times as I've hit it but I just keep checking back and always get a decent room from returns especially in the last week before the rooms get locked down. I only found out about the Gencon hotels website last year so if it existed before that I didn't use it I just lurked while online and would usually get something. My point being if you don't get a room in the housing lottery its still very possible to get a downtown hotel room with just a little patience. And to further the point, my job doesn't have computer access so I am only online after work when I'm online anyway maybe 4-5 hours a day on average. 

The real question is what happens pre-lottery.

One thing to watch: how many rooms in the block are set aside for vendors, VIGs, TD and volunteers (which are vital to promote the things we like to see at Gencon)  As the Con grows, so may the number of rooms that never see the light of day on the housing block.

I have no idea what percentage.  However, this eventually could raise prices to the benefit of the hotels for rooms sold outside the block at the expense of attendees who aren't as involved with the con. Suddenly a "club' mentality might take over and the rooms land to those savvy enough to work the system behind the system.  The whole VIG gambit seems to have devolved into a housing guarantee premium, and the whole 'have everyone buy a badge separately for a separate lottery ticket' strategy' further inflates demand.

While groups sit on extra rooms before the dreaded cancellation deadlines, those on the outside are at the mercy of a web script developed by someone kind enough to do so for beer money, or praying one opens up at a mega premium price through other hotel booking sites.

To provide normal hotel pricing for Gencon 'Insiders' seems fair on one hand , but quickly leads to gouging on the other. VIG tickets go up, hotels increase prices much higher than any other time of year in Indy, and not just because of overall demand, but in part to the decisions made to hand out regular priced rooms to a select group of people.

Eventually you can foresee a scenario where the housing block/ participating hotels get nervous from potential consumer driven lawsuits, complaints etc. and maybe they tweek adjustments here and there to look as though the block is doing Everyone a huge favor when in fact it's only helping the pre-lottery players, and the ones who draw a ticket between noon and 1pm or 2pm or whatever it was.

On the flip side, badge prices have been kept reasonable but I can foresee a trade off between higher badge prices, and more housing availability.  Whoever is managing this must go insane sometimes.:p

We'll see how it trends in the next few years.

In the meantime I definitely recommend driving in, using the mall parking/Gate Ten parking, and enjoying more food options and an escape from the masses.  Staying outside downtown has its upsides!

There are rooms still available 15-20m away.  We reserved South Greenwood prior to the lottery and there is still availability.

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I really don't want see Gencon consider moving as Indy has certainly put in considerable investment to improve what they can.

I also think it sucks to see people who love Gencon get priced out/distanced out, due to the shortage.

I don't know what consumer driven lawsuits would occur from not having enough space.

The one thing that could help downtown hotels is to incentivize people that really don't care about being downtown to even try being downtown (either not putting them in the lottery or blocking downtown hotel booking in the block).   You could do this via reduced badge price, priority to the event queue or other methods.   Or you remove the amount of people in the lottery by doing group discounts under 1 person so people aren't buying badges just to get multiple lottery chances.   If VIG is truly just turning into a 'I'm paying X amount to get a hotel' then they might as well do away with that too and grandfather those in the current program, but stop taking new people in.

Others have suggested that Gencon just get out of the hotel game completely other than for vendor/event organizers.

At the end of the day, there is absolutely no place on earth that would make everyone 100% happy with every aspect of a con.   

And think Gencon is bad for hotel prices?  Take a look at Nov 1-3 when Taylor Swift is in town.  Thought I saw $3K a night for Conrad and others in that $2-3K range.

The recent NAR commission lawsuit, as a parallel example.  Yardi lawsuit.

So yes, eventually, Gencon may elect to remove themselves from the process entirely.  It's possible that manipulating real time hotel prices (even unintentionally) are harder to explain or defend in the 2024 landscape.  Further, it's unknown how directly Gencon is involved in setting rooms aside to trigger a threshold that creeps into artificial inflation. I knows enough to know its a complex area.  Maybe q-rooms covers the cost and is on top of this  Who knows?

I Don't think Taylor Swift sets aside a massive housing block a year in advance of her shows...if she did...prices might even be higher.

Anyway

See you this year!  I don't think a solution was ever discovered on these forums, and it's definitely above my pay grade :p. I apologize if it raised alarm.  It's like, just my opinion, man :)

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One option is that to get a downtown room you need to book Wednesday to Sunday.